WATERLOO, ONTARIO: BlackBerry is parting company with global creative officer Alicia Keys just one year after it signed up the singer to the role to coincide with the launch of its BlackBerry 10 operating system.

The surprise appointment of Keys aimed to bolster the marketing of the make-or-break operating system, but disappointing sales resulted in a dramatic profit fall and the departure of chief executive Thorsten Heins after a sale to its biggest shareholder collapsed.

BlackBerry will part company with Keys at the end of the month. It said in a statement that it had “completed our year-long collaboration.”

“We thank [Keys] for her many contributions including providing creative direction for the BlackBerry Keep Moving Project, which attracted more than 40 million visits, advocating for women in science, technology, engineering, and math, and launching the BlackBerry Scholars Program,” it said in the statement. “We have enjoyed the opportunity to work with such an incredibly talented and passionate individual.”

The Keep Moving marketing campaign that supported the launch of BlackBerry 10 was "by far" the company's biggest marketing campaign, according to Boulben.

Keys' work for the Keep Moving campaign included the creation of a video in each city where she performed her “Set the World on Fire” tour, with each customized video based on ideas she received from her fans.